If a dispute has arisen and problems occur with regard to the constitution of the arbitral tribunal due to the behavior of a party or to the implementation of the appointment method, the arbitrator or arbitrators shall be appointed by the President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance .

If the parties provided for an even number of arbitrators, an additional arbitrator shall be chosen either in accordance with the agreement of the parties or, in the absence thereof, by the appointed arbitrators or, if they fail to agree, by the President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance .

Failing such acceptance, the person charged with the organization of the arbitration shall invite each party to appoint an arbitrator and if necessary proceed to the appointment of an additional arbitrator to complete the arbitral tribunal. If the parties fail to appoint an arbitrator, the person charged with the organization of the arbitration shall make the appointment.

The person charged with the organization of the arbitration may provide that the arbitral tribunal shall only render a draft award and that the dispute shall be submitted to a second arbitral tribunal if one of the parties objects to this draft. In such case the person charged with the organisation of the arbitration shall appoint the members of the second arbitral tribunal; each party may request the replacement of one of the arbitrators so appointed.

The statutory or contractual time limit for the arbitrators' mission may be extended at the request of a party or of the arbitral tribunal by the President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance , or, in the case envisaged by Art. 1444.2, of the Tribunal de Commerce .

In the cases envisaged by Arts. 1444, 1454, 1456 and 1463 the President of the Tribunal shall at the request of a party or of the arbitral tribunal decide in summary proceedings ( référé ), by court order against which no recourse is available.

Appeal is nevertheless open against this order if the President refuses to make the appointment for one of the reasons set forth in Art. 1444.3. The institution, conduct and decision of this appeal procedure shall be the same as for disputes regarding competence.

The President of the Tribunal designated in the arbitration agreement shall be competent, or, in the absence of such designation, the President of the Tribunal of the place where the arbitration agreement has situated the arbitration. In the silence of the arbitration agreement, the President of the Tribunal of the place where the defendant to the incident, or one of them, resides shall be competent or, if no defendant resides in France, the President of the Tribunal of the claimant's place of residence.

Unless the parties agree otherwise, the arbitrator shall have the power to decide on incidents regarding the verification of handwriting or the forgery of documents, in accordance with Arts. 287 to 294 and Art. 299. 3

However, the arbitrator has the power to interpret the award, to correct any error and material omission affecting it and to supplement it in case he has omitted to decide on an element of the claim. The Arts. 461 to 463 shall apply. 5 If it is impossible to reconvene the arbitral tribunal this power shall lie with the court or tribunal that would have been competent in the absence of the arbitration agreement.

In case of appeal or an action for setting aside the First President or the magistrate in charge of the case may grant exequatur of an arbitral award that has been declared provisionally enforceable. He may also declare an arbitral award provisionally enforceable, subject to the conditions of the Arts. 525 and 526, and his decision shall have the force of exequatur. 6

Appeal is available against an arbitral award unless the parties have waived this possibility in the arbitration agreement. No appeal is available if the arbitrator is authorized to decide as amiable compositeur , unless the parties reserve the possibility of appeal expressly in the arbitration agreement.

If the parties have not waived the possibility of appeal as provided in Art. 1482 or if they have reserved it expressly in the arbitration agreement, only appeal shall be possible, be it for revision or for annulment of the award. The court shall decide as amiable compositeur if the arbitrator was so authorized.

If the parties have waived the possibility of appeal as provided in Art. 1482 or if they have not reserved it expressly in the arbitration agreement, the action for setting aside is possible, despite any stipulation to the contrary.

These procedures may be instituted from the moment the arbitral award is rendered; they shall no longer be admissible if they have not been instituted within one month from the date the exequatur of the award is notified.

However, an appeal or setting aside procedure, within the limits of the case before the court, entails ipso jure recourse against the order of the enforcement court or termination of the action before it.

Appeal is possible against an order refusing exequatur within one month from its notification. The court of appeal shall, at the request of the parties, consider such grounds as they could have invoked in an appeal or setting aside procedure against the arbitral award.

If in an arbitration taking place in France or subjected by the parties to French procedural law difficulties arise in the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the interested party may bring the matter before the President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris as provided in Art. 1457, unless the parties agree otherwise.

If an international arbitration is subject to French law, the provisions of Titles I, II and III of this Book apply only if the parties have not made any specific agreement, and subject to Arts. 1493 and 1494.

The arbitrator shall decide the dispute in accordance with the rules of the law chosen by the parties or, in the absence of such choice, in accordance with the rules of the law he considers appropriate.

The setting aside procedure of Art. 1504 is brought before the court of appeal of the place where the arbitral award is rendered. It may be instituted from the moment the arbitral award is rendered; it shall no longer be admissible if it has not been instituted within one month from the date the exequatur of the award is notified.

The time limit for the procedures of Arts. 1501, 1502 and 1504 suspends the execution of the arbitral award. Institution of one of these procedures within the time limit has the same suspensive effect.

started @The University of Tromsø, Norway, 1993
hosted by The University of Oslo, Norway, since 1998
in fellowship with The Institute of International Commercial Law,Pace University, White Plains, New York, U.S.A.